A  TKUE  HISTORY 


OF  THE 


I^IIRST 


CONGREGATIONAL  CHURCH 

OF  Champaign,  Illinois, 

• 

AND  WHAT  ITS 

I 

Thorough  Principles  Are  and  Mean, 

AND  A 

Continued  Protest 

AGAINST 

Their  Continued  Innovation. 


BY- 


A.  O.  HOWELL. 


-o- 


CHAMPAIGN, 


ILLINOIS, 


1889. 


Eaton  Bros.,  Printers. 


A  True  History  of  the  First  Con¬ 
gregational  Church  of  Champaign, 
Illinois,  and  what  its  Thorough 
Principles  Are  and  ]\Iean,  and  a 


Continued  Protest  Against 
Continued  Innovation. 


Their 


HY 

A.  O.  HOWELL. 

Wiiereas  there  lias  been  for  tlie 
past  twenty  years  a  very  seductive 
iiiflueiice,  intent  on  the  subversion  of 
and  destruction  of  the  tliorougli  prin 
ciples  of  this  First  Congregational 
Church  of  Champaign,  111.,  I  deem  it 
my  duty  to  write  a  few  facts  that!  am 
not  permitted  to  speak,  because  these 
thorough  principles,  as  well  as  all  the 
old  members,  to  whose  hearts  they 
were,  and  still  are,  most  dear  and 
Drecious,  have  been  and  are  now 
carefully  supressed;  and  also  because 
a  recently  published  history  of  this 
Church  by  persons  recently  among  us 
is  much  garbled,  and  in  reference  to 
myself  incorrect. 

I  tirst  came  here  on  the  6th  daY  of 
iSovember,  1858,  and  not  1854,  as 
stated.  I  bought  my  present  farm 
TSov.  10,  1858  [as  per  title].  I  soon 
identified  myself  with  the  partly  organ¬ 
ized  church  then  being  established  [a 
tew  days  previously]  at  Urbana,  Ill., 
under  the  care  of  Rev.  W.  W.  Blan¬ 
chard,  near  the  iirst  day  of  November 
1858. 


56433 


There  was  no  house  or  railroad 

wliere  Champaign  now  stands.  I 

returned  to  Ohio  and  brouo’ht  iny 

family  and  church  letters  and  Sunday 

school  library  in  the  month  of  Feb- 

€/ 

riiary,  1854.  Bro  M.  A.  Barnes  and 
wife  arriyed  one  week  preyiously  from 
Plattsburg,  N.  Y.  Bro.  Rankin  and 
wife  were  from  Ripley,  Ohio.  We  soon 
found  fi*om  further  acquaintance,  that 
w^e  were  all  of  us  most  thorough  abo¬ 
litionists,  prohibitionists  and  anti¬ 
masons.  Our  yery  ardent  loye  for  , 
each  and  for  these  needed  reforms, 
still  so  bitterly  hated,  but  bmind  us 
the  more  closely  together. 

x\fter  yery  many  days,  nights  and 
^yeeks  of  most  unusual  prayer  and 
consecration  we  unanimously  reyised 
and  unanimously  adopted,  this,  our 
present  unrescinded,  and  as  yet,  only 
legal  articles  of  faith,  standing  rules 
and  coyen  ant  of  this  First  Congrega¬ 
tional  Church  [then  of  Urbana]  now 
of  Champaign,  Illinois,  and  our  pres¬ 
ent  manual  [a  few^  copies  of  which  are 
still  with  us]  and  of  which  the  fore¬ 
going  is  a  yerbatim  copy,  except  a 
misprint  of  *4wo-fifths”  in  rule  8, 
which  reads  in  the  original 'church 
records,  ‘‘x^yo-THiRDS  of  the  entire 

MEMBERSHIP."' 

Our  bitter  experience  in  churches 
east,  which  were  steeped  in  and  ruled 
by  slayery,  masonry  and  whiskey, 
caused  us  to  oar  out  all  these  sins,  that 
we  might  haye‘  one  pure  Christian 
church,  free  from  all  these  awful  sins. 
Our  records  show  that  all  of  us  who 
thus  subscribed  to  these  thorough 


rules  and  took  this  most  sacred  cov¬ 
enant,  should  constitute  the  member¬ 
ship  of  this  church. 

I  brought  a  Sunday  school  library 
from  Cincinnati,  .(^hio,  and  helped  to 
organize  this  Sunday  school  at  the  old 
court  house  in  Urbana,  on  the  ninth 
of  April,  1851.  1  was  elected 

and  re-elected  as  superintendant  an¬ 
nually  for  four  years,  then  Ueac -n 
Barnes  was  cliosei]  annually  for  four 
years.  I  had  an  unusually  intelligent 
and  efficient  comi)anion,  whose  frail 
body  was  not  equal  to  her  ardor  and 
zeal  in  this  pione(ir  church  and  sab¬ 
bath  school.  She  died  July  2d,  1854. 
The  records  of  this  Sunday  school  are 
still  in  the  hands  of  Mrs.  M.  A. 
Barnes,  but  like  our  church  manual 
are  not  wanted  by  our  jjresent  Rulers 
in  Israel,  who  seem  very  intent  that 
our  names,  our  memory  and  our 
work^  which  God  so  signally  blessed 
for  the  first  ten  years  of  our  history, 
shall  be  blotted  out;  as  demonstrated 
at  every  church  reunion. 

1  earnestly  wish  every  member  of 
this  church  would  read  these  original 
records,  tliough  of  late  much  muti¬ 
lated,  now  in  the  hands  of  the  clerk, 
Mr.  Frank  Balcom. 

Our  first  minister  was  Rev.  W.  W. 
Blanchard,  then  Rev.  Miinhall,  then 
Rev.  A\mi.  llallowell,  whom  we  of 
this  [then  Chicago]  association,  with 
the  help  of  Rev.  J  E.  Roy,  suppress¬ 
ed  and  silenced  from  preaching  for 
grossly  immoral  conduct.  My  only 
object  in  writing  these  facts  is  to  show 
our  erring  brethren  and  sisters  just 


what  tliese  tliorougli  priiieipies  and 
rules,  as  expressed  in  our  original 
church  manuals,  are  and  what  they 

t/ 

MEAN,  and  some  of  the  obvious  rea¬ 
sons  'why  our  rulers  have  been  and 

•/ 

are  still  so  intent  on*  destroying  them; 
and  also  Vvdpy  these  thorough  princi¬ 
ples  are  most  dear  to  the  hearts' of  all 
of  the  old  members,  that  originated 
them  for  this,  our  true  church  manual, 
and  why  they  are  still  unrescinded. 
We  had  no  '^autocratic  rulers,’"  as  is 
now  advocated  and  ju-acticed.  ^  Evan¬ 
gelical  Christian.  (Character  was  the 
paramount  aim  and  purpose  of  all. 
We  were  opposed  to  all  secret  clans — 
they  are  now  our  rulers. 

We  purpose  to  continue  to  protest 
and  vote  XO.  and  wait  God's  time 
when  he  will  hear  and  answer  our 
prayers  for  the  perpetuity  of  these 
true  Christian  principles.  We  still 
cling  to  this  sure  foundation  rock,  the 
Divine  Christy  on  which  this  church 
was  founded,  and  are  sure  the  gates 
of  hell  shall  never  prevail  gaainst  it. 
These  covenants,  the  most  momentous 
in  which  mortals  can  engage,  are  still 
sacred  and  paramount  to  all  your 
wicked  covenants  and  oaths  with  the 
secret  clans.  Can  any  person  be  a 
true  Bible  Christian  and  advocate 
.  Unitarianism  or  Universalism^  Can 
any  man  be  a  true  follower  of  (dirist 
and  continue  to  violate  the  divine 
command  by  taking  these  hard  blas¬ 
phemous  oaths  of  Masonry  ?  Whose 
penalties  are  so  barbarous  and  who 
swear  to  protect  and  defend  a  brother 
mason  of  the  seventh  degree,  ^"right 


or  wrong ^  niurder  and  treason  not 
exeepted^'^^  as  thousands  of  masons 
who  have  seceeded  have  attested  from 
from  the  murder  of  Morgan  down  to 
our  present  day.  We  are  taught  to 
serve  God  in  these  secret  clans. 
Christ’s  teaching  is:  ‘'1  ever  taught 
openly  in  your  streets  and  synagogues 
and  in  secret  have  I  said  nothing.'’ 
‘^Follow  thou  me.”  Are  his  commands 

worth V  of  anv  attention,  that  church 

•/  •/  ’ 

secritists  are  bound  to  respect?  ^'Ye 
connot  serve  God  and  Mammon,” 
and  ‘‘Except  a  man  forsake  all  that 
he  hath  he  cmatiot  be  my  disciple.” 

Can  any  man  be  a  true  Christian 
temperance  prohibitionist  and  persist¬ 
ently  labor  and  vote  to  rescind  a  plain 
but  thorough  temperance  prohibition 
rule  in  this  church,  established  36 
years  ago,  and  then  vote  for  and  ad¬ 
vocate  license  for  saloons,  as  has  been 
done;  theatres  or  any  other  bad  house? 
-To  say  they  can  and  are,  is  to  my 
mind  as  incongruous  and  absurd  as  to 
speak  of  a  white  black  bird,  a  loyal 
rebel  or  a  pious  fiend. 

Can  any  man  be  a  consistent 
Christian  minister  or  deacon,  and  be 
owners  and  directors  of  opera  houses, 
and  rent  them  for  the  most  obscene 
and  vile  plays,  wliose  public  bills  and 
bulletins  are  not  only  poisoning  our 
youtli,  but  are  an  insult  to  every  de¬ 
cent  woman  that  walks  our  streets. 

Our  minister  and  deacon  said  to  me 
these  words^  “To  license  means  to 
snjpjpvess  [the  liquor  traffic.]  Now 
this  is  the  true  common  sense  mean- 
ing  as  given  by  AVebster’s  dictionary. 


p) 

namely,  to  approve,  to  permit,  to 
sanction,  etc.”  Plence  every  vote  for 
license  means^  (whether  you  mean  it 
or  not),  whether  you  be  minister, 
deacon  or  layman;  oi*  city  mayoi,  or 
would  be  city  mayor,  or  alderman,  or 
any  other  high  official  in  church,  city, 
state  or  nation,  means  and  is  virtually 
saying  to  the  destroyer  and  to  the 
world  just  this,  and  nothing  less, 
namely:  I  sanction,  I  approve,  I  per¬ 
mit,  you,  the  destroyer,  to  enter  my 
home  and  my  tamily,  and  tlie  homes 
and  families  of  my  neighbors,  my 
church  and  Sunday  school,  and  take 
my  sons  and  my  daughters;  If  and 
provided  you  pay  for  it,  as  he  is 
doing  to-day.  And  if  he  does  not 
continue  to  destroy  our  loved  ones  it 
will  not  be  because  some  of  you  have 
not  voted  for  and  signed  license,  and 
thus  given  his  work  of  death  your 
a2yi)roval ! !  !  Is  not  the  influence  of 
such  ministers  and  church  officials  far 
more  pernicious  than  that  of  the  sa¬ 
loon.  keeper?  May  the  God  of  mercy 
awaken  you  to  the  enormity  of  your 
guilt  and  crime,  and  lead  you  to 
deepest  repentance,  ere  his  just  judge¬ 
ments  overtake  you.  What?  license 
crime  for  money?  The  voice  of- God 
is:  '\your  money  perish  with  you,” 
‘^except  ye  repent  ye  shall  all  likewise 
perish.” 

Your  grand  and  much  lauded  city 
buildings  and  improvements;  that  are 
built  from  license,  ‘ds  the  price  of 
blood.”  Oh!  that  I  could  induce 
professing  Christians  to  see  these 
momentous  truths,  as  we  shall  all 


< 


soon  realize  their  importance  at  the 
judgment  bar. 

Not  what  men  say  but  what  they 
vote  determines  their  real  character. 
There  is  not  a  saloon,  or  theatre,  or 
secret  clan,  or  any  other  house  whose 
steps  take  hold  on  hell,  less  than  the 
dear  people  want.  The  fi^w  preachers, 
papers  and  books  that  faithfully  ex¬ 
pose  and  denounce  all  these  sins  are 
despised,  sentenced  and  condemned 
without  a  hearing.  The  most  bitter 
and  untruthful  I'esoiutions  have  been 
passed  and  recorded,  without  our 
ever  knowing  or  heaidng  of  them  until 
recently;  while  our  protestations,  en¬ 
treaties  and  facts  are  treated  with 
silent  contempt.  V/hen  you  welcome 
these  sics  to  church,  fellowsliip,  your 
vote  gives  them  your  highest  endorse¬ 
ment,  in  violation  of  Christ’s  com¬ 
mand,  ‘‘Have  no  fellowship  with  the 
unfruitful  works  of  darkness  but  to 
reprove  them.” 

The  order  of  Satan  is,  ‘'Let  us 
alone.”  Oh,  this  irrepressible  con¬ 
flict  would  soon  end  in  triumph  for 
Christ,  if  rulers  in  Israel  obeyed  his 
commands  rather  than  Satan’s.  They 
fail  to  believe  and  teach  the  whole 
truths  of  the  Bible;  hence  the  vast 
amount  of  infidelitv,  both  in  the 
church  and  in  the  world. 

This  church  and  this  Sabbath 
school  were  the  first  and  not  the 
second  in  this  town.  We  were  pro¬ 
hibitionists  and  helped  to  make  this  a 
prohibition  town  by  creating  a  true 
public  sentiment.  Every  saloon  was 
legally  closed  and  the  liquors  of  some 


8 


of  tliem  quietly  and  legally  emptied 
into  the  street.  Bur  ^ ‘while  men  slept 
(or  were  in  the  army)”  ‘'the  enemy 
sowed  tares..” 

The  creators  of  public  sentiment 

now,  are  more  at  fault  for  every  sin 

'  §/ 

and  crime  than  the  saloon  keepei*s. 
Our  boasted  progress  is  backward  and 
not  forward,  in  numbers,  tem])erance, 
morals,  and  in  true  Bible  religion,  till 
al  most  nothing  is  prohibited  except  the 
jpvotesl  of  an  original  proliihitwnist. 
We  were  abolitionists  and  disfe! low- 
shipped  all  who  were  not.  The  war 
came  on  us,  we  gladly  took  our  places 
at  the  front,  and  during  four  years  of 
suffering  and  deaths,  most  of  ouV 
dear,  faithful  and  loved  brethren  w^ere 
killed,  or  died  in  hospitals,  or  moved 
away.  We  disfellowshipped  all  known 
masons,  with  all  their  horrid  profane 
oaths  and  barbarous  penalties.  Xow 
the  licensed  saloon  is  ap])roved  and 
masonry  with  all  their  numerous 
spawn  of  of  supremely  selfish  secret 
clans  dominate  in  every  department  of 
civil,  political  and  religious  life, 
instead  of  true  Christian  character. 

It  is  seen  that  these  articles  of  faitli 
and  rules  and  covenant  are  thorough¬ 
ly  scriptural  and  evangelicah  prohibit¬ 
ing  slavery  and  secret  clans  and  in¬ 
toxicating  drinks,  and  accepting  the 
great  fundamental  doctrines  of  the 
atonement,  death  and  resurrection  of 
our  Divine  Redeemer.  We  accept  his 
word  as  our  only  Infallible  rule  of  faith 
and  practice,  and  not  our  consciences, 
(“Often  seared  as  with  a  hot  iron”) 
Thus  showing  that  this  is  not  merely 


9 


% 


a  difference  ot  opinion,  as  to  best 
nietliods  to  secure  the  same  ends,  but 
a  difference  of  fundimental  principles. 

We  are  sometimes  taught  tljat  our 
poor  little  finite  reason,  when  in  con¬ 
flict  with  the  Almighty  ^‘thus  saith 
THE  Lord’'  is  paramount. 

Nnw  while  these  docrines  are 
most  dear  and  precious  to  our 
hearts,  they  are  most  repulsive  to 
our  pastor  and  deacons,  as  shown  by 
often  saying  both  in  IS  unday  scliool 
and  prayer  meeting  by  Deacon  Beards¬ 
ley,  **I  AM  NOT  Evangelical.”  Hence 
the  purpose  to  destroy  these  thorough 
principles  and  substitute  ‘^broad  and 
liberal  Christianity.” 


Near  seventeen  years  ago  our  pas¬ 
tor,  Rev.  V^alentine,  announced  from 
the  pulpit  a  call  for  a  church  meet¬ 
ing,  to  revise  the  articles  of  faith, 
standing  rules  and  covenant  of  this 
church.  No  attempt  was  made  at 
said  meeting  or  since  to  revise,  as 
announced  by  Mr.  Valentine,  but  a 
motion  was  carried  to  rescind  the  en¬ 
tire  manual,  and  all  its  thorough  prin¬ 
ciples  were  and  are  claimed  to  be 
voted  down  and  out-  by  fourteen  of 
our  members,  to  wdiom  they  were  ana 
are  still  obnoxious;  against  eight  dis¬ 
senting  members  who  voted  to  retain 
them.  A  part  of  tlie  fourteen  claimed 
their  action  as  final  and  have  so 
claimed  ever  since.  The  protest  of  the 
minority  of  eight  was  never  recorded. 
Now  our  third  rule,  reads  on  the 
records,  thus:  ''No  change  shall  be 
made  in  the  polity  of  the  church  but 
by  a  vote  of  two-thirds  of  the  entire 


10 


membership.”  Puriehard  on  Congre¬ 
gationalism.  says:  ‘^tliese  rules  we- 
call  polity  of  tlie  church.” 

Now  fourteen  was  not  two-thirds  ot 
the  entire  membership,  there  being 
near  three  hundred  members.  This 
rule  was  not  complied  with,  therefoi-e 
our  original  articles  of  faith,  rules  and 
covenant  was  ai  d  still  is  uni*escinded 
and  in  force.  A  resolution  by  A,  O. 
Howell  was  carried  without  a  dissent¬ 
ing  vote  that  two  hundred  additional 
copies  of  this  church  manual  be  print¬ 
ed,  and  that  every  member  should 
hav'e  a  copy,  (as  our  church  record  at 
the  time  still  shows).  In  compliance 
with  the  said  resolution,  this,  the  onlv 
legal  manual  of  the  First  Congrega- 
itonal  Church  of  Champaign  is  here¬ 
with  presented. 

At  the  close  of  a  weekly  prayer 
meeting  last  November,  our  past(»r. 
Rev.  John  Al lender,  being  cognizant 
of  the  foregoing  facts  presented  a  new 
and  very  different  church  manual  for 
adoption,  leaving  out  our  prohibitory 
rules,  on  slaver v  and  secret  clans  and 
temperance,  and  our  sacred  covenant. 
Twenty-seven^voted  to  adopt,  against, 
one  who  again  voted,  no.  We  again 
protested  and  again  claimed  their 
action  to  be  invalid  and  illegal,  for 
•  the  same  reason,  namely:  that  twenty- 
seven  is  not  two-thirds  of  our  entire 
membership,  as  our  third  standing 
rule  requires. 

The  Devil  still  says  through  his  sub¬ 
jects,  ‘‘let  us  alone.”  “Preach  love.” 
Love  what?  Sin  as  well  as  rightness? 
Nonsense!  Which  commander  'are 


u 


- 

'  s.  ■  r  ’ 

you  and  1  obeying?  are  my 

friends  if  ye  do  wliatsoever  I  com¬ 
mand  you,”  ''Ye  cannot  serv^e  God 
and  Mammon,”  '*ilis  servants  ye  are 
to  whom  yon  yield  yourselves  servants 
to  obey.” 

I  am  very  conscious  of  my  own 
errors  and  sins,  but  where  I  am  wrong 
I  pray  to  be  led  by  God\s  word  and 
spirit  to  repentance  and  renunciation 
of  every  sin.  Do  you  ? 

This  protest  is  to  me  far  from  being 
a  pleasurable  duty.  The  ostracism, 
hatred  and  contempt,  lies  and  threat- 
enirm  that  I  have  lono’ encountered  will 
only  be  intensified.  But  in  exact 
proportion  as  you  give  these  sins  your 
approval,  silent  or  audible,  you  will 
receive  patronage,  positidn,  friends 
and  laudation;  and  visa  versa.  lean 
well  afford  (in  this)  to  be  ‘^as  the 
Master”  and  "not  above  him,''  but  1 
cannot  afford  to  .see  these  thorough 
principles  crushe.d  out,  that  are  still 
most  preci<)us  to  our  hearts  as  they 
were  thirty-five  years  ago,  without 
another  most  humble  and  prayerful 
protestation.  Christ  and  his  followers 
j)rohibit  all  sin  and  license  none, 
never. 

The  popular  theory  and  teaching 
that  it  is  right  to  stand  by  and  defend 
OUR  political  party  or  our  secret  clan, 
"right  or  •  wrong”  is  equall}^  perni¬ 
cious  when  ap])lied  to  our  preacher  or 
OUR  church  and  priest.  Such  teaching 
contravenes  every  principle  of  justice 
and  rightness  taught  throughout  the 
Bible.  The  avowed  objects  of  our 


12 


rulers  is  thus  expressed:  ''I  wish  to 
pull  down  the  distinctions  between  tlie 
cliurchand  tiie  world.” 

I  am  confident  that  it*  all  these  tacts 
were  known  and  dui.y  coxsideked  by 
all  of  our  members,  they  would  surely 
never  vote  to  destroy  these  thorough 
principles.  No  member,  (to  my 
knowledge,)  has  ever  publicly  ex¬ 
pressed  a  REASON  for  wishing  them 
rescinded,  but  say  nothing  and  vote 
solid  to  blot  them  out,  wliich  is  cliarac- 
teristic  of  secret  clans.  No,  my 
greviously  erring  brethren,  if  you 
must  rescind  tliese  rules  and  sacred 

covenant  do  it  legallv  and  in  ac- 

•/ 

cord  an  ce  with  our  third  rule,  which 
requires  ^  vote,  of  ‘  two-thiixls  of  the 
^entire  membership,”  and  I  will  call 
for  my  letter  and  leave  you.  But 
remember  until  you"  do,  they  are  still 
the  un rescinded  rules,  principles  and 
covenant  of  this  church.  You  may 
continue  to  bulldoze  them  dowm,  but 
wliile  there  is  a  God  in  Heaven,  that 
still  lives  to  hear  and  answer  oiir 
humble  prayer  for  the  purity  of  tliis 
church  and  the  perpetuity  of  these 
thorough  principles,  yon  have  not 
and  NEVER  WILL  rescind  them.  I  don’t 
know  how  or  when  God  will  interpose 
in  behalf  of,  this,  his  own  belored 
Zion,  but  1  only  know  tliat  he  does 
and  WILL  hear  and  answer  our  impor¬ 
tunities  for  it.  1  onlv  know  that  the 

c/ 

gates  of  Hell  shall  never  prevail 
against  it,  therefore  we  will  continue 
to  pray  and  protest  and  vote  no,  until 
he  does. 


4 


